Live From CES: Digital Experience, Nokia N80 & More

Posted by Chris Cardinal Categories: Smartphones, CES, CES 2006, Peripherals

After quite the two hour, four mile (seriously) trek from the airport involving a chiseling shuttle driver, a misguided monorail stop, a late attempt into the Gates Keynote and finally getting our badgeholders at the only place still open at 8 pm, we arrived at Digital Experience. DE is a press-only event that took place in the Bellagio’s Grand Ballroom. Some 100+ companies were there showing off their latest and greatest, and here’s what we found out:

TiVo claims that we’ll finally have a standalone HD TiVo by “mid 2006.” We won’t be holding our breaths for this one. Logitech released a new set of Bluetooth headphones that allow you to playback music from your (compatible) cell phone, with an integrated microphone that lets you answer calls mid-jam, right from the unit itself. It also featured some integrated play controls, letting your track forward and backward at will. (Link goes to a unit that looks almost identical.) Logitech also released what appears to be one of the first cordless desktop keyboard and mouse kits built specifically for the Mac. It includes a two-button mouse and a ten-day warning LED when the battery is low.

Nokia showed off the new N80, their first 3 megapixel camera and an absolute beauty. I got some hands on time with it, and I’ll be publishing details about it shortly. For now, it’s a slide form-factor, has a dedicated shutter button, and switches to landscape mode when you go to take a photo. The temptation to steal it was strong, until the Nokia rep informed me it’s a pre-production model that has quite a few bugs still.

We’ll be posting a lot more throughout the day, including some video interviews and more pics. For now, enjoy the picture of the chocolate fountains at Digital Experience. Stocked with fresh strawberries, marshmallows and pound cake, it’s important you know the sacrifices we make for you.